O'Malley and 'The Wire' Creator Mend Fences

On a recent trip to New York City, 'The Wire' creator David Simon happened to be sitting on an Acela Amtrak train when the man behind him was someone who he has known for quite some time.

On a recent trip to New York City, 'The Wire' creator David Simon happened to be sitting on an Acela Amtrak train when the man behind him was someone who he has known for quite some time.

It was Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley.

After turning around and seeing that O'Malley was drinking a Corona, he went to buy him one. In handing him the beer, he said "you've had a tough week" in reference to the governor's recent flap with the White House over immigration.

Simon wrote about the experience in a blog post.

The two then talked about 'The Wire.'

Simon wrote:

"Come on, Dave, " he said, "we're getting to be old men at this point. Sit, talk."

I joined him. He still hates "The Wire" with a taut fury. I suggested he might watch it some years from now, when there was less at stake. I am still no fan of some of his policies, especially with regard to the drug war and the use of mass arrest, but I held my tongue and told him instead that I thought he'd been misused this week by some White House aides who misrepresented his position on the immigration issue, which indeed, I believe is true. We searched for common ground and landed eventually on The Pogues, a band beloved to us both, as well as some mutual memories of the more farcical personages who once held court on the Baltimore City Council. At one point, we both lamented the death last year of Pogues guitarist Phil Chevron and sang some lyrics to Chevron's magnificent "Faithful Departed."

The two took a photo together using his iPad and a joke ensued:

"As the train neared Baltimore, the governor suggested that perhaps we both suffered from Irish - or as I know the joke, Jewish - Alzheimers. As he explained, "That's where you…"